The Grape Garden
by nariai
Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]
1. Chapter 1

**Here is my newest story. I'm not really sure where I'm heading with it.**

 **The perspective (narrator) might change in the next chapter. This was more of an experiment.**

 **Please leave a review.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. Self-Insert/OC-Insert**

 **Have fun.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

 _Prologue_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Confirmed A Theory_

* * *

Let it be said, safety rules were there for a reason.

Amelia knew that now.

When her secret crush took her out for a ride with his new car, the young girl should have listened to the quiet voice that told her to fasten her seatbelt. But it just seemed so 'uncool' at that time.

She really liked Joshua and did not want to make a bad first impression.

The price she payed wasn't worth any impression she might have made if the evening had ended differently. But how could she have known that something like this would happen? That the truck would swerve into their road and collide with the new car.

She flew out of the windshield like a rag doll, hundreds of sharp glass shards embedding themselves into her skin. It hurt but was nothing compared to the pain she felt upon contact with the asphalt.

For a moment the girl blacked out.

Only to awaken to a pain she had never felt before. Amelia couldn't even pinpoint it.

 _Everything hurt._

She could feel some kind of fluid touching her skin. There was too much glass around her for it to come only out of Joshua's car.

The sweet smell of grape penetrated the air.

Her thoughts wandered to the fact that the truck's driver must have been transporting wine. Lots and lots of wine.

And then the sixteen years old girl felt the burning sensation the fluid's touch brought her.

A strangled cry escaped her bloody lips.

It hurt, it hurt _so much._

Her eyes strained to stay open. Snow was falling from the clouded sky. Beautiful white flakes that touched and soothed her burning skin.

Had Amelia looked down, she would have seen a rib sticking out of her flesh.

The wine reminded the girl of her grandmother's grape garden. Filled with hundreds of different colored grapes.

She loved their taste.

Salty tears mixed with the blood on her cheek. Amelia knew she would die.

There were people gathering around her. Joshua wasn't among them. Was he already dead?

Someone might have been touching her, but no matter how much Amelia tried to focus, she just couldn't feel it.

Why was she so _cold?_ Because of the snow?

An almost magical garden flashed before her eyes. A small smile made its way on her face.

How could something so tragic be so _beautiful?_

Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, the familiar smell surrounding her only a small comfort in the face of her very own tragedy.

* * *

It did not take her long to figure out what had happened.

A drunk truck driver had collided with a car. A car she had been inside of. Like a rag doll she flew out of the windshield and most likely broke every bone in her body.

Amelia had died.

But she did not stay dead. No, apparently she couldn't even die the right way.

 _Rebirth. Reincarnation._

The Buddhists really knew what they were talking about. She was the living proof for that.

Instead of staying dead, Amelia Babineaux proceeded to be _reborn._

For a moment the girl wondered if the same thing had happened to Joshua. She hoped not. It was enough that one of them ended up being punished. Amelia wouldn't wish this whole thing even on her worst enemy.

Being reborn was _terrifying._

The world around her just a blur. A language so unfamiliar spoken by the only other present person. Her new mother no comfort at all.

How could a nineteen years old girl comfort her wailing child when she was completely alone during the birthing process and still had to deliver the placenta.

The young mother had been in _so_ much pain.

It was nothing compared to what Amelia felt while she was dying.

Horrified beyond belief, Amelia had laid next to the screaming woman. Her eyes and ears crippled and body unmovable.

 _She had wanted to die once again._

The girl fell unconscious, her new body too weak to stay awake through her emotional turmoil.

If only she hadn't woken up again.

But she did and so did the woman who gave birth to her.

A teenager overwhelmed with the role thrust upon her. This applied to them both.

Amelia Babineaux never asked for a second chance, neither did Alda Einarsdóttir ever plan to get pregnant.

With no family of her own and the child's father unavailable, Alda could only rely on herself. The problem was that the young girl just wasn't ready to take on such a responsibility. To care for another human being.

This was a disaster in the making.

Alda never wanted to be a mother. And she just _couldn't_ be one.

Thus the teenage girl committed the biggest crime of her life. Three days after giving birth to her sweet daughter, she took the child to the heart of Reykjavík. The darkness of the night worked in her favor, hiding them both in its shadows.

There weren't many people outside. It was far too cold to even consider going out for walk and most of the shops had been already closed anyway.

Each of Alda's breaths could be seen in the air in form of small puffs. Her body was trembling. Was it from the cold or fear?

The tiny child in her arms was watching her with an almost accusing stare. But no infant could ever understand what she was about to do.

Could she?

No, of course not. Those violet eyes she had inherited from her father were full of innocence. Slightly chubby cheeks red from the cold and a wisp of her own platinum blonde hair adorned the infant's head.

Alda's resolve almost broke. _Almost._

The duo arrived at an abandoned alley. This was it. This was the end.

The teenage girl found a mostly dry spot behind a pair of large trash bins. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks as she placed her small daughter on that spot. Her hands did not want to let go of the thick blanket that was wrapped around the infant.

''I...I have to do this. There is no other way.'' Alda mumbled. More tears followed. ''I'm sorry. I'm so sorry my sweet Diana. This is for the best.''

And she continued telling herself that one sentence while she left the alley. Each step more confident than the other.

Alda Einarsdóttir believed her own well crafted lie. What she did was a mercy.

As a demigod her daughter had no happy future before her. All the pain she would have experienced was stopped even before it begun.

Alda was Diana's savior.

 _(She never forgot the way her daughter's eyes widened when she put her down upon that cold, cold ground._

 _Because deep down Alda knew she was no savior._

 _She had murdered her own child.)_

In the darkness Diana _screamed._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. Self-Insert/OC-Insert**

 **Enjoy.  
**

* * *

 _The Grape Garden_

 _Chapter 2_

 _Sweater Weather_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _How She Survived The Night  
_

* * *

 _"In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe."_  
 _― N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms_

 _"Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation."_  
 _― Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit—Will Travel_

* * *

 _She screamed louder than ever before._

She screamed and screamed andscreamedandscreamedandscreamed, thick tears rolling down her rosy cheeks and snot flowing from her nose. Diana tried to scream louder and louder, hoping, no, praying that someone would hear her.

The girl may not have asked for this second chance, may not have even wanted it, but that did not mean that she wished to die in such a way.

 _Hypothermia. She did not want to freeze to death._

Diana continued screaming, her loud infant wails echoing through Reykjavik's abandoned streets. She screamed and wailed till her young throat was too injured to proceed and only hacking coughs passed her blue lips.

The cold had a tight grip on her. Even though the teenager who was supposed to be her new mother had left her in a relatively sheltered place, the biting winds had no problems reaching her. They brushed against her soft skin and left a burning sensation at the exposed parts of her body.

Why had the woman wrapped such a thick blanket around her? No infant could survive such cold and the blanket would be no help. The cloth only hindered her movement and made her feel even more trapped.

Trapped in a body that should have never been hers, in a situation she could not control, Diana could do nothing else but hope for salvation. A salvation that would not come or arrive to late.

The girl could already feel it. The cold seeping into her bones. Numbness replacing her digits. Her thoughts loosing any sense and her consciousness disappearing.

A car accident had caused her first death. Hypothermia would be the reason for her second demise. Diana could not help but wonder if there would be a third time. Maybe she would actually be able to live pass her first few days or teenage years. Twenty-eight, that seemed like an acceptable age. Especially with her track record.

Keeping her eyes open turned into a challenge. Each time they closed it became harder to open them again. They dropped in a disguise of sleepiness and a promise of waking up again. But Diana knew that she would not witness another day if she fell asleep. Only death's arms. Its embrace would once again drag her away from the living and perhaps into another cruel life.

 _Diana did not want that._

Although the girl was mentally a teen, her body was still that of an infant. Too weak to continue fighting the cold and stay awake, the young girl's eyes started to close one last time.

Before the darkness managed to fully envelope her, Diana saw what she thought to be a final hallucination. Wine vines were growing from the cold earth, wrapping themselves around her tiny body and creating a small roof above her head.

How ironic, the smell of grapes even penetrated the air.

Violet eyes closed and Diana felt _warm_ again.

* * *

Ichneutae should have never agreed to this mission, but he could not very well have said 'no' to a god. Lord Dionysus could be very vicious and his threats were not to be ignored.

The satyr saw what happened to those who dared to do so. It wasn't pretty.

And so he agreed to fly to _Reykjavik,_ of all places, to search for a demigod. The camp director never said whose child it exactly was, but he had his suspicions. Sadly, it did not truly matter who the child's godly parents was—As long as it wasn't one of the Big Three, of course.—what mattered were all the other information the god had failed to give him.

Who was the child? What was its name? How old was it? The gender? _Where exactly could he find it?_

None was known by the satyr. Only that he had to find the child. Failing Lord Dionysus was not an option, thus he had spend the last two weeks wandering through Reykjavik's streets, trying to find a needle in a haystack.

During the first week he only searched as long as the sun was on the sky, but he was starting to get desperate. The god sending him here meant that the young demigod was in danger and such cases did not survive very long. Thus he decided to start looking during nighttime as well.

The weather was horrible and Ichneutae doubted he would find anyone outside when it was so cold. However, the minuscule chance of the child actually being outside in such harsh conditions made him go on.

It turned out to be a good choice. On his fourth nightly excursion he finally found what he was looking for.

The satyr heard the child before he could even smell it. Its loud wails and coughs echoing through the otherwise silent streets. Finding it wasn't easy, he had to check a few alleys before he entered the right one.

What he found surprised even him. When Lord Dionysus had send him on this mission, Ichneutae expected to find a young child hiding from monsters in a nice home or some warm place, not an infant abandoned in the cold.

But there was no mistake, the wine vines spoke for themselves. He had found a daughter of Dionysus.

 _On the verge of freezing to death. Only protected by her father's limited power._

She was lucky to be alive. He had to make sure it stayed that way.

Gently, the satyr picked the unconscious infant up. The girl's, the pink blanket indicated her gender, cheeks were rosy and Ichneutae knew that she must have had a fever. Just as he knew that if it weren't for the plants that even now stayed wrapped around the blanket and her body, the girl would have been dead.

Her father's interference had kept her alive.

 _Diana  
_

The word danced across his mind and Ichneutae did not even stop to think about how he knew the girl's name. There were not many things that managed to surprise him anymore. If a god wanted something, then he would get it.

Obviously, Lord Dionysus wanted him to know his daughter's name and so Ichneutae knew it.

 _Diana,_ what a daring name. Not many aware of the truth were brave or foolish enough to name their child after a god or goddess. The girl's mother had been.

 _Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt, nature and the moon._

What a foolish mortal her mother must have been. Perhaps she hoped the name would give her daughter some kind of power. Or perhaps she had been just stupid.

It mattered not at the moment. He had to get the child back to his motel room and make sure that she survived the night. Tomorrow they would fly back to the camp and get her treated properly.

Yes, that sounded like a good plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Please leave a review.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. Self-Insert/OC-Insert**

 **Have fun.**

* * *

 _The Grape Garden  
_

 _Chapter 3_

 _Sweet Dreams_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Glimpsed A Better Future  
_

* * *

 _"Only in the darkness can you see the stars."_  
 _― Martin Luther King Jr._

* * *

Diana woke up once again and just for a second she was lulled into a magical sense of security that made her believe she might have actually reached her true destination this time around. A bright light blinded her eyes, making her wondered if this was how heaven looked.

Unfortunately, her infant eyes soon adjusted to the light and forced Diana to face her new reality.

 _She was still alive._

Someone had saved her. Taken her from that cold, cold ground into a warm room. She was laying in the middle of a double bed, the sunlight shining through the window blinding her violet eyes.

 _Her head hurt._ Diana wasn't cold anymore, no, she was _burning._ Throat dry and scratchy, tiny body hurting everywhere. It felt as if her head would soon split in two.

An unbidden whimper escaped her rosy lips, soon followed by loud cry.

Even though her throat hurt, Diana _wailed._ Tears streamed down her red cheeks and she felt as if she were in that abandoned alley again. Alone and unable to fend for herself. Instead of cold she felt way too warm, as if she was burning in some kind of hellfire.

And yet she wasn't truly _alone_. Diana did not notice the foreign presence immediately. Eyes closed too tightly to see anything, wailing too loud for any other sound to register in her ears.

The touch of a hand on her stomach alerted her to his presence.

Violet eyes snapped open. They were full of fear, relieve and disbelieve.

Her infant eyes were still too underdeveloped to see anything that was farther than a hands length away from her face clearly, however, she could see the man in front of her face perfectly.

He was leaning over her, his face inches away from her own. A few locks of dishwater blond hair touched her forehead and her eyes met a pair of surprisingly green ones.

What made her pause were the real looking goat horns and ears on his head. Any other time Diana would have thought him to be some kind of cosplayer, but after dying and being reborn it wasn't so easy anymore.

The thoughts that went through her head at that very moment were completely inappropriate for children and had _Amelia's_ grandmother actually heard them, well, there would have been no happy ending for the young girl. Ever.

Starting to feel scared of the strange man above her, Diana whimpered quietly. Warily, she watched his eyes widen in panic and body snap upright.

''No, no, no. Don't cry again. I'm sorry.'' The man waved his hands in a placating manner. ''You probably don't feel so well, do you? What should I do? Shit, what should I do?''

He moved away from her and towards a bag that was laying next to the big bed. ''I got a baby bottle for you earlier, but I don't have anything for you to eat. Some water should be enough for now?''

Diana cried out in pain and confusion. What was going on here? Who was this man?

 _God, her head hurt_ so _much._

For what felt like the thousandth time, Diana's wails echoed through the motel room.

Ichneutae felt like crying too. The situation was slowly getting out of hand. Many things he might have known, how to care for a child was not one of them.

He knew better than to complain out loud, but those bitter thoughts still danced across his mind. Couldn't Lord Dionysus have told him about what was truly awaiting him here?

How was Ichneutae meant to take care of a child, if he didn't even have any of the much needed products. The child was too young to feed it with anything but milk. There wasn't any in the small dingy motel. He had been lucky enough that the motel clerk had a small bottle for infants, otherwise the young demigod couldn't have even gotten anything to drink.

The man with horns on his head moved away from the infant and towards a bag laying on a red chair next to the opposite wall. Out of it he took an untouched bottle of water.

The lid was screwed open and some of the water soon filled the previously acquired baby bottle.

Diana, unable to even try lifting her head, saw none of what the stranger was doing. Was it relief or panic that filled her at his abrupt disappearance?

She never managed to find an answer to that question because soon all she felt was exchanged with surprise. Brown appeared in her vision and the next thing the girl knew was that someone, most likely the horned stranger, had stuck something into her mouth.

Reflexively, the muscles in her face moved. A cool liquid touched her tongue and and soothed her burning insides. Water, someone was giving her water to drink.

She gulped down one sip after another. Her actions so fast that the foreign man had to take the bottle away from her to stop Diana from chocking on the liquid.

Her tiny arms immediately reached out towards the small bottle. They were too weak and slow to actually grab it.

A few precious droplets escaped the corners of her mouth.

''That has to be enough for now.'' The stranger was talking in English. Amelia had been born in France and the only English she learned was the one at school.

She had never been all that good in that language. However, at the moment she was glad for at least having some basic knowledge about it. Some sentences might have sounded a little weird or grammatically wrong after she translated them, but it was better than not understanding anything at all.

Her tiny arms fell to her side and she tried to send the man a murderous look. Instead of intimidating, it looked ridiculous and maybe even cute.

''I'm pretty sure you don't understand a word of what I'm saying.'' Well, at least the girl managed to convincingly play the role of an infant. Maybe she should become an actress in the future. ''But I still feel obligated to tell you that you're safe now. We will soon be leaving the country and then your father will decide the next course of action.''

Her father? And who the hell was that supposed to be?

Diana could only hope the man wasn't too much like her new mother. Otherwise, she might just end up dead once again.

* * *

It took dying to finally fulfill one of her biggest dreams.

 _Traveling the world._

In her first life she never left France. Amelia had been born there, had lived there and died there. As Diana she had been born in a country she had never seen before―Not that she actually ever planned on going back to Iceland. Considering all that has happened, Diana thought it was quite understandable.―and after a few days she found herself in the middle of an airport in the US.

 _LaGuardia Airport. New York City.  
_

How she got there in the first place wasn't something the young girl knew. What she did know was that after she succumbed to her infant body's weakness once again, the stranger managed to get her out of a country without any legal papers and yet somehow failed to notice that she really needed to eat something.

Diana was _hungry._ The girl did not think that she had ever been so hungry before. Her stomach was empty and her mouth dry.

Did the man even know how to care for a child?

Slowly, she was beginning to believe that her supposed ' _father'_ was trying to kill her. Why else would he send such an idiot to get her?

Fortunately, one of her problems was soon solved by the stranger shoving the water filled baby bottle into her mouth. It felt almost as heavenly as the first time around.

Now she did not have to worry about dying of thirst. What a relief.

''We'll be home soon, Diana.'' The stranger whispered into her ear, a slight stubble scratching her skin in an uncomfortable way. ''There will be people who know how to care for children. Everything will turn out alright.''

Home? Where exactly was this home meant to be?

And the more important question, how did a man with horns on his head manage to smuggle a most likely unregistered child out of Iceland and into the US?

Diana wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer to that.

Something she would have wanted was to see and admire New York. However, her poor eyesight made that impossible. All she could spot was a blur of colors.

Her ears weren't any better. The loud sounds that surrounded her threatened to overwhelm them.

Luckily, the stranger managed to get them both into a car, most likely a cab, where the loud sounds were dulled.

He adjusted his hold on her. ''Get us to the Farm Road 3.141.''

And off they were. The driver did not even wait for the stranger to fasten his seatbelt. He drove through the traffic like a mad men and made Diana fear for her life.

Had she focused on what the stranger had said before, then the girl might have been a little more prepared for what was awaiting her.

But she didn't and only some minutes later she would come to loath her own stupidity.


	4. Chapter 4

**It's been some time, huh? Before we start this chapter I want to mention that Ichneutae is actually a canon character from one of the movies. I used him because I did not want to create too many OC. Another important thing is that this story begins before the start of the PJO series and we won't reach that point till at least eight more chapters will be written. Probably more.**

 **I did not actually plan for it to take this long till Diana finally reached camp.**

 **On another note, I have published a new TVD fanfiction, if you like that fandom then you should definitely try it out.**

 **Please leave a review.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. Self-Insert/OC-Insert**

 **Enjoy.  
**

* * *

 _Chapter 4_

 _The Silent Comedy_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Knew Not What To Do  
_

* * *

 _"Is it fair to have given us the memory of what was and the desire of what could be when we must suffer what is?"_

 _— Neil Jordan_

* * *

They drove for a relatively short yet endlessly long time.

Ichneutae incapable of doing anything else but watching the passing scenery through the car window, cradled the tiny infant in his arms. Lush green trees with their dark ancient bark rustled as a light breeze cooled the unusually warm day. New York's streets were filled with countless of people, all of them trying to maneuver through the busy city as safely as was possible to finally get away from the heat.

Even though the vehicle muffled the outside world's sounds, the honking of cars and cursing of some especially loud citizens still managed to reach the satyr's ears.

Fortunately, Diana was too young to pick up any of those words. He could already see the face Lord Dionysos would make if his daughter's first word would end up being 'bitch' or 'motherfucker'. Yeah, that certainly wouldn't be easy to explain.

Honestly, the child learning some curse words was the least of his problems. He might not have known a lot about children, but he still knew enough to recognize that the little girl, who had fallen asleep in his arms not long after they entered the cab, wasn't in the best of conditions.

Her too thin cheeks were flushed with a returning fever and puffed out with every heavy breath she took, which led to the assumption that the girl had a stuffy nose. Her dry and cracked lips only confirmed that thought. Droplets of sweat were gathering on her temple and her short strands of almost snow white hair were thoroughly drenched by it.

Diana's petit body trembled from a cold that wasn't there and a frown marred her porcelain face. Hands pressed to her stomach in tiny fists, the young demigod slept uneasily.

She needed help. She needed a doctor and the satyr feared what would happen if they did not arrive at camp soon.

Hopefully, he looked out of the window. They were in a less populated area now, the street surrounded on both sides by tall trees. The cornflower blue sky contrasted beautifully with the green of nature and at any other time Ichneutae might have stopped to appraise the sight before him.

It truly was a wonderful day. Deceptively so, really.

If it came to the worst, the child would at least know something besides the cold darkness of Reykjavik.

That thought alone managed to worsen the satyr's mood by a hundred percentage points.

Demigods had such short lives, being constantly hunted by monsters made their fates even worse. But it seemed that this girl especially had born under an unlucky star. Only a few days old and already on the verge of crossing to the Underworld.

It had to be a very unlucky star indeed.

''We're here, Mistah.'' The cab driver turned his head slightly to the right, peaking at the man sitting on the backseat of his car and the infant in his arms. ''Are you sure this is where you want to be? Maybe I should take you to a hospital. Your daughter doesn't look too well.''

Suppressing a sight, Ichneutae took a few bills from his trouser pockets and held them out to the man, never loosening his hold on Diana. ''I'm sure. Her mother lives not far from here. She's a pediatrician and will be all the help she could ever need.'' The satyr secured his traveling bag on his shoulder. ''You can keep the change.''

That statement couldn't have been any farther from the truth. Diana's mother would never help the little girl, after all, she was the cause for the child's current state.

''If you're sure, but should the mother not be there go to a hospital. The girl really needs medical attention.'' The driver took the money and counted the bills. Humming in satisfaction, he nodded his head. ''Have a nice day, Mistah.''

Carefully, the satyr stumbled out of the car and turned towards the cab driver with a thankful smile. ''Thanks, you too.''

And he did not say anything else, only slammed the door shut loudly in a moment of stupid carelessness and inattention.

 _Diana whimpered._

Great. He had managed to awaken the slumbering child with the loud noise. Now he could only pray that she would not start crying, attracting the monsters that resided around the camp's borders and constantly waited for one of the demigods to stumble unprotected upon them.

Soon, walking towards the camp through the forest, Ichneutae actually almost wished that she would cry. He had been a witness to how strong her lungs could be and her quiet whimpers caused worry to stir in his heart.

The girl hadn't cried for some time now and the whimpering was the first sound she made since they left the airport.

His pace hastened and suddenly he wasn't walking anymore but running. Camp wasn't far and he needed to be faster for the child's survival. Twigs snapped loudly under his booted feet and alerted everyone and everything in the vicinity to their presence.

They were lucky that no monster managed to stumble upon them.

Birds fluttered high above their heads and sung their most beautiful songs, completely unaware to the dilemma below them.

Ichneutae thought for a moment that one minute or two would not make that much of a difference for the tiny girl he was holding to his chest, but as soon as that idea crossed his mind he realized what a lie it was. Diana's survival until this point was a miracle. She had lived through a night on the cold streets of Reykjavik and then gone without any nutrition for the gods knew how long. The child was running a high fever almost constantly for a few days now and by all means should have been dead a long time ago.

Diana's survival until this point was indeed a miracle.

A gift given to the girl by her father in form of vines that were wrapped around her infant body and seemed to offer her some kind of divine protection.

But there was only so much even a god could do for a mortal, only so much time could pass till his protection became useless and the girl found herself alone in the Fields of Asphodel. There certainly wouldn't be a place for her anywhere else, not with how young she was and how little she actually managed to achieve.

His heart was thrumming inside his chest when he finally saw the camp's main entrance only a few feet away from them. Now he just had to run up the hill and someone else would take over the duty of caring for the child. Someone else would have to take the blame should anything happen to the child inside the camp's borders, he would not be at fault anymore. He would not have to tell a god why his not even a week old daughter was dead.

He stumbled slightly on the uneven forest path, but managed to catch himself in the last second. Running, the satyr tightened his hold on Diana and squinted his eyes.

A small group of people was standing near the entrance and it did not take him long to figure out that they had been send there to wait for his arrival. Undoubtedly, a child of Apollo was among them. Perhaps even two, guessing from the blonde haired heads.

They did not dare to leave the camp's borders, probably not seeing the sick child in his arms and thus deciding that there was no need for it.

But that was alright. It wouldn't have done them any good if a group of people just started crowding them outside of the camp's safety.

Diana would have to wait till they were completely home for someone to be able to truly aid her.

And Ichneutae could not help the loud sight of relief from escaping his mouth when that finally happened. His feet touched the sacred line that marked and protected his home from the cruel outside world and felt a collection of positive emotions burst inside him.

 _Relief. Happiness. Gratitude. Serenity._ All of them mixed into a heap, flowing through his body from head to toe.

 _Ichneutae smiled._

''By the Gods, is that an infant?'' Noah, a thirteen year old son of Apollo, regarded him with disbelieve. ''Where did you find an infant?''

Well, that was quite the stupid question. It wasn't as if he had kidnapped Diana from her mother or orphanage and the insinuation alone made him feel offended, however, the satyr did understand what the young demigod was feeling. After all, he had felt the same only a few days ago.

Rarely did children below the age of four enter Camp Half-Blood, Diana might just end up being the youngest camper in their whole history. A child that would grow up in a world of gods and never know how it was to be normal.

He honestly felt sorry for the girl.

''As funny as it is to see you gawking like that, Noah.'' The satyr carefully angled the child in a way that the boy could take a proper look at her. ''Diana needs help. She's sick and she _truly_ needs help.''

And just like that the boy's face went from stupefied to serious. ''Give her to me and find Daemon. He will know what to do.''

Ichneutae did as he was told, deciding that just this once he did not mind being ordered around by a child.

* * *

Diana felt miserable.

At the airport the girl turned infant had actually thought that she was alright again. That the wave of sickness had finally passed and that she was healthy or at least on her way there.

The headache was still there—but it wasn't so overwhelming anymore—and her throat hurt as well, yet none of it was even half as bad as it used to be the last time she was awake.

Thus Diana thought that perhaps everything would be alright. The stranger would take her to her new maybe father who could most probably take care of her. She would be fed and given something to drink and then figure out what to do next.

It never came to this.

They entered the cab and she curiously managed to observe a few things till her exhaustion finally caught up with her and she fell asleep once again.

Only to awaken a while later, disoriented and confused, to the loud slamming of the car doors and immediately wishing that the stranger was more attentive.

Diana knew not how long they had been driving, where they were or even what time of the day it was, but what she did know was that her head _hurt_ once again. She felt cold all over and could not breathe properly because of her stuffed nose.

It seemed as if the universe had played another joke on her. Made her think that she was alright, only to return the pain tenfold a while later.

The tiny girl _whimpered._

She wished that it all would finally stop. The pain, the hunger and even the thirst. She wanted it all gone.

And then the stranger was running through what seemed to be a forest—Green, there was so much green around her.—jostling her up and down and only heightening her pain. Diana thought her head was actually on the verge of exploding.

At that very moment Diana hated the stranger more than anyone else.

It felt like an eternity had passed when they finally stopped. Her underdeveloped eyes saw nothing but blurred parts of the stranger and a mixture of cornflower blue and dark green.

And then came a voice, a voice she might actually never forget, for it was the person to whom the voice belonged that would finally stop the head splitting pain at the back of her skull and make sure that her empty stomach was finally filled with some substance. ''By the Gods, is that an infant?'' A stupefied pause. ''Where did you find an infant?''

It was the voice of a child and no matter how hard the girl tried she could not tell if it was male or female. Had Diana not felt as if she were once again standing at death's threshold, then she might have taken some time to ponder on the child's choice of words.

But at that time she could not have cared any less about the child's religion or gender, so she shoved the few lingering questions to the back of her mind and hoped that there would come a time when she could actually deal with them.

Diana did not expect the pang of betrayal she felt when the stranger finished his short talk with stranger number two and carelessly handed her over to the child. He left her without looking back even once, running to find someone who could supposedly help her and whom she had no trust for.

Focusing became something very hard since she entered this new life and the next time she actually bothered to observe her surroundings and to focus on something else but pain and betrayal, she wasn't outside anymore.

The color beige surrounded her and she was laid down on something soft. Then a bottle was forced into her mouth and she tasted the most wonderful thing in the world. The liquid reminded her of salted caramel and strawberries.

As soon as it touched her tongue it also disappeared. The boy who was standing above her was replaced by another and hands were suddenly moving over her body.

Diana felt slightly lightheaded, but what mattered was that the pain was slowly subsiding. Another liquid was forced into her mouth. This time it was water. It soothed her tender throat and felt heavenly on her dry lips.

There were voices. People standing and speaking all around her. A mixture of words she could not properly identify.

But with her almost pain free mind Diana did manage to catch a few of the most important ones.

Daemon. Gods. Noah. Ichneutae. Chiron. Dionysos.

 _Camp Half-Blood_

Darkness swam at the edges of her vision and before it fully managed to envelope her, Diana realized the true length of the universe's joke and how _fucked_ she truly was.

The girl who had once been known as Amelia Babineaux succumbed to the darkness and wished to never wake up again.


	5. Chapter 5

**To answer one question, Diana is older than Pollux and Castor.**

 **There will be a small time skip in the next chapter. Nothing big, just a few months, but hopefully it will make the story slightly more interesting.**

 **I have once again published a few new stories. Two of them are Self-Inserts into either Vampire Knight or Tokyo Ghoul. The last one is a drabble Bleach story about Orihime and Ulquiorra. If you like one of those fandoms, then you should try them out.**

 **I have also decided to answer some of the question you might have in the next chapter, so write them in a PM or leave a review if you haven't yet.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. Self-Insert/OC-Insert**

 **Have fun.**

* * *

 _Chapter 5  
_

 _Looking Too Closely_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Came Across The Truth  
_

* * *

 _"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore."_  
 _― William Faulkner_

* * *

 _Edited on the 8th of July 2017. Chapter Five and Six have been put together._

* * *

A mild breeze flitted in through the open window and caressed Diana's cheeks. It carried the smell of strawberries and grapes and tickled her nose pleasantly. Appearing in soft hues of orange and pink, the sunlight shone behind her closed eyes and signaled the time of the day. Her skin was pleasantly warmed by its rays and one of her tiny hands reached out for more contact with them.

Sleepily, Diana opened her violet orbs and gazed around the room she was currently occupying.

The walls had a light lavender color and she seemed to be laying in a white crib. There wasn't much else she could see with her crippled sight, so she used her other senses to explore her surroundings.

Childish laughter and shrieks entered the room from the outside. Diana could also hear the clangs of metal and a pleasant melody being played by some kind of instrument.

It felt as if an eternity had passed since she could last listen to something without feeling as if her head might explode from sheer pain. Her nose wasn't stuffy anymore either, so she could smell the different scents surrounding her. The smell of strawberries and grape was the most dominant one, but there also seemed to be the fragrance of some flowers and the enjoyable hint of a nice summer day at a beach. Almost hidden by all those scents was the whiff of sweat, blood and steel.

Reaching out with her left hand, she first felt the silk used to cover her tiny body, then the wood of her crib. Diana was surprised to come in touch with what seemed to be a plant and as she squinted her eyes the girl realized that vines were winding themselves around her crib.

Blinking lazily, the girl-turned-infant looked up at the white ceiling of her room and realized that for the first time since she had entered this new life she actually felt _good._ No headache. No stuffy nose. No feelings of freezing or burning up.

Diana felt truly _great._

That is until she remembered the frightening realization that had haunted her mind before she had succumbed to the healing darkness.

 _Gods. Chiron. Dionysus._

 _Camp Half-Blood._

Was this some kind of joke? Could something like this be real?

The truth was that after everything that had happened in the last few days, it wasn't hard for her to believe this whole craziness.

Diana, whom had been known as Amelia Babineaux less than a week ago, knew better than to doubt what was directly in front of her. After waking up in the body of an infant, finding herself in a fictional universe did not seem too impossible anymore.

 _Percy Jackson_

Not the best place she could have ended up in, but not the worst either. She could have been reborn in a world like Attack on Titan or Naruto. Compared to those two Camp Half-Blood did not seem so bad.

Besides, it could still turn out that Diana had misheard something and that her conclusion was as far as possible from the actual truth. As open-minded as she was, the girl would still wait for some proof before she started panicking.

For now, Diana would just take another nap. And if she was lucky, she would wake up in Amelia's bed.

* * *

The next time she woke up it definitely wasn't in Amelia's bed, but neither was it inside the crib she had observed the last time she was conscious.

Her first instinct was to panic and start trying to move. The fact that she was an infant limited that movement and made her remember the hopelessness she felt alone in the dark and cold streets of Reykjavik.

Her arms moved left and right, hitting the body of the person that was holding her tightly in its arms. Teary eyes opened widely, perceived what looked like a man's chest garbed in a violet shirt and looked up to see the face of another stranger. A whimper passed her lips and she kicked with her tiny feet in all directions.

Why was this constantly happening to her? Why couldn't she just wake up in a familiar bed without a stranger hovering over her?

Unfazed, the man holding Diana tightly to his chest started rocking her up and down. Though the action was meant to be soothing, it did nothing to calm her down. For a moment Diana truly appreciated that the headache was gone. She would not have liked to go through an experience similar to running through the forest with the first stranger.

A small cry echoed through the room as the first tears fell from her violet eyes. Abruptly, the man stopped moving her and slowly walked in the direction of a chair shaped object. He sat down and adjusted his hold on Diana.

Another cry grated at both of their ears and the man positioned her slightly higher, so that her ear was above his heart. Its regular beat was slow and oddly familiar.

 _''Now, now, there's no need for you to cry, little Diana.''_ The voice belonged undoubtedly to a man. It was deep, soothing—almost _melodic_ —and the only thing that actually stopped her form throwing a tantrum that would have been louder than the explosion of a giant bomb. Within seconds his voice managed to calm Diana's inner turmoil and that _scared her_.

Who was this man and what did he want from her? Why was he holding her so gently? How come that his voice and presence made her feel so _safe?_

Holding her with one arm, he used his left hand to brush some tears off her flushed cheeks. _''Don't cry. No one can hurt you as long as I'm here, my sweet child.''_

'My sweet child'? Diana's large eyes stared at the foreign man in wonder. Was this her supposed father?

She had expected many things of the man that sired her new body, but somehow none of her expectations were fulfilled by the stranger who was currently holding her.

As he adjusted a blanket around her Diana observed the man who claimed to be her father. Through her blurry sight she saw a mop of dark hair and tanned skin. From the sound of his voice she guessed that he was about thirty years old.

That was all she currently knew about her new 'father'.

A hand stroked her head softly and she tried to focus her gaze where she thought his eyes would be. _''Now, that's better, hmm? There is no need for you to worry, I'll take care of everything.''_

What did he need to take care of? It did not sound as if he just meant her.

Irritated that she could not ask for clarification, Diana jerked in surprise when she realized that they were occupying a rocking chair. Even more irritation welled up inside her once she heard the man chuckle at her wide eyed expression. In response she pursed her lips and tried to give him her most convincing glare.

The following chuckles made her doubt its effectiveness.

Had it not been for the sudden warmth that filled her whole body from head to toe, Diana might have thrown a tantrum as a childish retribution. However, it never came to it because along with her supposed father's chuckles came a rather peculiar _feeling._ The girl did not really know how else to describe what she felt. The air around her just seemed to become thicker, but not in a oppressive way. It caressed her skin and filled her with a curious happiness.

Her limbs felt lighter than ever and once again Diana was surrounded by the smell of wine. Unexpectedly, it did not cause any flashbacks or discomfort.

There was something else there as well. Restrained and kept as far away from her as possible. Silently, almost as if they weren't there, she could hear the loud shrieks of men and woman, their loud laughter and _manic_ cries.

They were easily overpowered by the soft sounds of music and the smell of a _grape garden._

 _''It seems that I'll have to be careful around you, my sweet daughter. So young, yet so sensitive.''_ There was no sense in denying his identity anymore, though Diana still preferred to think that whatever she was currently experiencing was just a figment of her imagination. After all, Greek gods and monster couldn't be real, could they?

It wasn't easy to believe a lie such as she was trying to tell herself while feeling that oppressive power that surrounded her like a blanket. Diana knew that it could squash her as if she were a meaningless bug, choke her until there was no air left in her lungs and kill her before she could even try fighting it.

And though she knew all that, the girl turned infant gurgled happily as she felt _it_ brush her sensitive skin, tickling her ribs.

Through slightly squinted eyes she watched the man turn his head to the right. His action was soon followed by a meek knock on a door she could not see.

Moving her body so that she was out of sight, the man murmured. _''You may come in.''_

The sound of a door opening and closing filled the otherwise silent space. Hidden as she was, Diana could not see the person who now entered the room, but she did recognize his voice. It belonged to one of the people who had taken care of her and helped heal her sick body.

The rocking chair stopped moving. ''What do you want, Daniel?''

''Diana, uhm, your daughter, I mean you know that she is your daughter, but...'' The person laughed nervously. Perhaps he could feel the odd power surrounding them as well. ''She needs to eat something, Lord Dionysus.''

Diana's mouth went dry and her tongue darted out to wet her lips unsuccessfully. It was then that she noticed that the man had not been speaking English for the whole time. Only when the boy entered the room did he start speaking one of the only two languages she knew. Another thing she was certain of was that the man had certainly not been talking to her in French before.

 _How had she understood everything he had said before?_

For a second her vision went blank. _Lord Dionysus?_

''Did you bring something for her?'' The man— _no, the god,_ Diana thought almost hysterically—asked. There was the sound of some fluid moving inside of a container and a strained 'yes'. ''Then give it to me.''

A jittery shuffle later, _Dionysus_ removed one of his hands from her body and presumably grabbed a baby bottle. Her assumption was confirmed when only a few seconds later something was forced into her mouth. On instinct her lips closed around it and she started to suckle the milk inside of the container.

That did not stop her mind from wandering to unwanted places.

 _Dionysos. She was a daughter of Dionysus._

After all Diana had heard, seen and felt there was no denying that little fact. And while she felt like having a panic attack and her mind internally screamed at her, the girl could not stop herself from being lulled to sleep by gentle rocking of the chair and her divine father's reassurance.

* * *

 _Dionysus_ visited her at least once a day.

Each time he gently picked Diana up into his arm and cradled her tiny body to his chest. Sometimes he would walk around the room and tell her stories of times that have long since past. There were also visits during which he would just sit down in the rocking chair and softly caress her stomach. The gesture was oddly soothing and managed to lull more than once.

His visits were always accompanied by his divine aura. It announced his presence even before he entered the room and calmed her frazzled nerves. The unmistakable smell of grape filled her nostrils each time her 'father' was in the vicinity.

A familiar nostalgia always welled up in her chest, though it was easily forgotten when Dionysus started regaling her with one of his tales.

Diana did not know all that much about Greek mythology, but there was a certain appeal to hearing it from someone who had actually witnessed all of those events. The way he spoke of those times always managed to capture her attention, especially if he told her something about himself.

Stories of Dionysus' youth and his wife Ariadne were Diana's favorites. They also seemed to have a special place in her new father's heart.

Besides, they made him seem almost _human_ or at least a little more approachable. Fact was, however, that Diana never did manage to forget the truth. The stifling aura surrounding her did not allow such delusions.

Dionysus was a _god_ and that was something Diana would never forget.

Although it should have scared her, like it did all those other campers who came across them while her 'father' unleashed some of his powers, the fact that her parent was a god worked as a reassurance.

Diana had read the books about the world of Percy Jackson and knew quite a lot about it. She was aware of the dangers this world represented and that being a demigod wasn't a good thing, but all things considered, her situation wasn't all that _bad._

Camp Half-Blood was probably one of the safest places in this universe and Diana was situated inside its borders. Another positive aspect was that none of the Big Three sired her and Diana's godly parent ended up being _Dionysus._ He was probably one of the only gods that were able to take care of their children without suffering Zeus' wrath. His punishment forced him to stay in camp and proximity of his children. If Zeus wanted to keep him away from her, he would have to cancel the punishment.

Diana doubted or at least hoped that her _'dear grandfather'_ would do no such a thing.

 _''What are you thinking about so hard, little Diana?''_ Half of the time they were alone Dionysus spoke Ancient Greek. The other half was English.

Two weeks after arriving at her new home Diana obviously still couldn't answer any of his questions and wouldn't be able to do it for few months. Her dependence was a very daunting thing. Even worse was the humility she experienced when strangers were forced to change my diapers and bath me in those little plastic tubs.

Although, Diana did have to admit that she preferred them taking care of her to being trapped in a dirty diaper. Almost everything seemed preferable to stinking like a dump and living in her own shit. And that was how she would end up if no one looked after her. Dying of thirst and hunger would come afterwards and it certainly wasn't something she desired.

A finger stroked the skin above her brows. _''Such a curious little creature.''_

More than once Diana had wondered how it was possible to understand a language she had never learned. She knew that her brain was somehow wired to it, but the whole thing was still mind-blowing. In her previous life Diana had been proficient in only one language; French. English was the second language the girl learned and she wasn't all that bad in that subject. Then came German and she completely gave up on learning a new language.

Yet here she was, never having learned Ancient Greek, but still able to understand almost every single thing Dionysus said.

Amazing, that's what it was.

 _''I have a feeling you're not even listening to me.''_ He chuckled, softly caressing her stomach. _''But you're too young to understand anything anyway, huh?''_

Listening to him wasn't all that easy. The attention span of an infant limited the information she could absorb from his words.

Having the choice between looking dumbly up at him and gurgling cutely, Diana picked the latter. Then she watched as her 'father' slowly lowered his head and felt his lips brushing her forehead.

Through the last weeks Diana's vision had cleared slightly. She still couldn't see everything perfectly, but if something was near enough, then Diana could see it pretty clearly. Her vision also reached a little farther now and its improvement allowed the girl to observe her father's face intently.

He looked different than he did in the movies and the books. His face younger and more defined. Prominent cheekbones and pinkish lips that contrasted heavily with his tanned skin greeted her sight. A few locks of dark curly hair fell over his forehead, but did not shadow his magnificent violet eyes. They were his most outstanding feature and seemed to be composed of myriad shades of purple. Diana could see some lavender flecks and a dark circle around the iris.

Never before had she seen such beautiful eyes. And there was also no denying that Dionysus was probably one of the most handsome and beautiful men she had ever come across. Though she did not feel any attraction to him—He was the father of her current body and she was just an infant, _eww._ —she could easily admit that simple fact.

Although, she also had to admit that there was something decidedly _inhuman_ about his beauty. In some ways, it just seemed too good to be true.

Nevertheless, there was no denying the truth that gods and goddesses were beautiful creatures to whom mortals could never hope to compare.

Diana's perception changed as her 'father' adjusted his hold on her so that her body was now situated vertically instead of horizontally to the ground. Gingerly, one of his hands supported her head while the other held her in place. This position made it possible for her to look over the man's shoulder and out of the only window in her room.

Even with her improved vision the girl could still not recognize much of the outside world. But sky truly did have a lovely color as the sun slowly seemed to be disappearing behind the horizon. Soft pinkish and orange hues changed into an at first light and later navy blue. A glowing orb replaced the fiery sun and took its place on the night sky.

Diana watched all that happen while her father walked around her room, rocking her in his arms. A soothing breeze wafted into the room through the open window and cooled her warm skin.

Tired eyes were slowly covered by pale lids and young girl let sleep take her to another realm.

* * *

''You look better, Diana.'' The horned man murmured as he leaned his body over her crib and brushed a hand over her short hair. His familiar voice and green eyes filled her body with a warm calmness and forced a tiny smile onto her lips.

Diana had been angry at the man when he left her alone with a child, but that did not change the fact that this creature was her _savior._ Without him she wouldn't be among the living anymore.

Raising his body, the man looked down at her. ''I should probably go, hmm? After all the trouble you've caused me, I just wanted to make sure that you're alright.''

Before he could move away, Diana raised her arms with some difficulty and gurgled happily at him. Boredom was something constant in her new life and she appreciated every visit someone bestowed upon her. Most of the time it was Dionysus who came into her room. Daemon, the boy who had healed her, was the another one of her visitors. Then there were also those ones that she had seen once or twice since being born in this world; Chiron and a young boy named Noah.

Every distraction from regarding the wall was a welcome one.

''Well,'' Sighing the man reached out for Diana, his warm hands lifting her body. ''I do have some time on my hands and I also believe that I haven't introduced myself yet.''

Blinking once and then twice, she realized that his name truly was a mystery. Until then the girl had just called him 'stranger', 'the man' or her 'savior' and she certainly wouldn't mind hearing his name. At least it would sound slightly more personal.

''I'm Ichneutae, though you probably won't be able to pronounce it for a while.'' He leaned his head against her own. ''Besides, I'm pretty sure that Lord Dionysus would prefer it if your first word had something to do with him. So, when the right time comes just call out to him and afterwards you can ask for me.''

Diana doubted she could properly pronounce his name even with fully developed vocal chords. It was unusual and sounded a little weird to her, but she guessed that it could have been worse.

His behavior was kind of cute. The satyr obviously didn't know anything about children and that made him feel slightly awkward while holding her, but he _did not leave._ Ichneutae stayed with the young girl and took care of her even though he wasn't all that eager.

Considering all that he had done for her—Ichneutae had taken her from Reykjavik's cold streets to the the only safe haven she would know in this life.—Diana could forgive him leaving her with a child and not coming back for three weeks. She could also forgive him behaving awkwardly in her presence.

No matter what may happen in the future, Ichneutae would always be her _savior._

Pursing her lips, Diana watched as the satyr carefully lowered her back into the crib. His face was blurred, but she had a feeling that he was smiling down at her.

A soft blanket covered her body and the soft tune of a flute reached her ears. It did not take her long to realize that the satyr was playing a calming melody for her. The pleasant sound soothed Diana and allowed her mind to wander.

Dionysus would be probably arriving soon with her bottle. Normally, he always came a about half an hour after she woke up in the morning. Breakfast was served during his visits and surprisingly he also changed her diapers. Perhaps Diana shouldn't have been so surprised, Dionysus was her new body's _father_ after all. And yet she had not expected to ever see a god changing a child's dirty diaper.

Weren't they too _divine_ and _mighty_ to do something so banal?

Apparently not.

Understandably, him being a _god_ did not make the whole ordeal any less humiliating. There was just something truly horrifying about being unable to take care of oneself and having to rely on others.

Knowing her luck or rather how much the Fates seemed to hate her, Diana guessed it could have been much worse. Blindness or some other permanent disability would have been something they could have surely bestowed upon her. Or perhaps they could have let her die on the cold streets of Reykjavik.

Or imagine the horror of being reborn as a daughter of Zeus. Diana never did dream of becoming a _tree._

The girl knew that with all that had happened to her, her situation could have been a lot of worse. And while she listened to the soothing music of a flute, Diana, for the first time in her new life, silently thanked the Fates for their _mercy._


	6. Chapter 6

****Please leave a review.****

 ** **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]****

 ** **Enjoy.****

* * *

 _Chapter 6_

 _Mask Off_

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 _Of Gods And Monsters_

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 _"When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable."_  
 _― Jess C. Scott, The Intern_

 _"To be neutral does not mean to be indifferent or insensitive. You don't have to kill your feelings. It's enough to kill hatred within yourself."  
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Krew elfów _

* * *

''Da-'' A wide grin brightened Diana's entire face. _''-da.''_

Perhaps it was because of the fact that she had spoken her first 'word' or it could have also been the pride she saw in her father's eyes, but there was nothing that could have stopped the self-satisfaction from swelling up inside of Diana in such inappropriate amounts. A smug expression appeared on her face as she was graced with one of Dionysus' rare genuine smiles.

That just prompted her to repeat her previous action. _''Dada.''_

Waving her pudgy arms animatedly, Diana _squealed_ as her body was picked up into her father's strong arms. Joyous laughter echoed through the lavender colored nursery and her vision blurred into a myriad of colors.

Dionysus twirled them around the room, careful to hold her fragile body properly. ''You've made me proud, my sweet daughter.''

 _'You've made me proud',_ those words sounded rather bittersweet in the girl's ears. Her godly parent had never made her feel inadequate or abandoned, but she knew that her situation was very rare. Most demigods yearned to hear those few words spoken to them by their immortal parent for their whole lives and only a sparse few were granted that privilege.

And yet here she was, despite having done nothing to actually deserve it, Diana received one of the biggest honors of their world.

The love of a parent should not have been a rarity, but it was in their society. The girl had no delusions about the importance demigods. Most would end up being forgotten in a few decades, only a handful would be remembered centuries in the future.

Gods and goddesses did not, no, _could not_ love all of their children. Diana did not even want to imagine what it would mean to love and lose each and every single child one sired in the span of a few millennia. Especially because mortals had such short life spans in comparison to gods.

But that did not mean that the girl did not blame them for what would happen in the future. If the gods could not provide their children with the necessary love and care, then they certainly shouldn't have so many them.

It might have sounded harsh, yes, but it was the truth. With the current state of their society it was a miracle that someone like Luke hadn't risen much sooner and if nothing changed it would certainly happen again in the future.

''Now, where did that smile go?'' Dionysus cradled her in his arms, positioning her head above his heart.

As a five months old that had just spoken her first 'word' Diana could not answer his question and just this once she was glad about that. Insulting the gods loudly and in the vicinity of one of them would not have been a smart move.

Turning her head slightly to the left, she blew a raspberry once her lips collided with the god's wrist. The droll on his skin seemed to take Dionysus attention from her sudden mood change.

In a show of flexibility, he managed to hold her securely, take a tissue and wipe his wrist with it. Had she not been squashed against his chest, Diana might have clapped.

As it was, she just grabbed to fistfuls of his rather colorful shirt and pushed feebly against his chest. Once the man noticed her intentions he allowed the little girl to lean her body backwards, holding her back and head with his right hand. ''We haven't been outside for a while. I'm sure some fresh air will do you good.''

Gurgling happily, the young looking girl turned her head towards the entrance of her room. In just a few strides, they reached the white door and her father pushed it open resolutely. The Dionysus Cabin had one large living room that connected a few smaller rooms, one them her nursery. There seemed to be only two other doors that led into separate rooms, probably meant for the two brothers Diana had yet to meet.

The living room was very homely with a large plush couch and two armchairs. Contrary to her nursery, the colors here were more gender neutral.

Stopping by the couch for a second, Dionysus picked up a small blanket and put it over Diana's shoulders. Summer was slowly ending and the wind could be quite biting in the morning hours.

Although the sun had only risen a few hours ago, many campers could already be found outside. Most of them belonged to either the Apollo Cabin—the children of the Sun God lived alongside the sun—or surprisingly the Ares Cabin. The latter spent most of their time training with their chosen weapons.

Garnering the attention of almost every single person they passed was something Diana had gotten used to in her first month in this new world. Campers always stared at the duo, pointing their fingers discretely and whispering to their friends.

It wasn't a big surprise. From what she had gathered, Diana was the youngest camper to ever arrive in Camp Half-Blood. No one truly knew where she had come from, the only thing they were aware of was that her father—Mr. D—loved her enough to bring her into their home at such a young age. Within in less than a week Diana had become the object of their jealousy.

Not that she could fault them for that.

In none of the books she had read did the girl ever find a story about a demigod being raised by its godly parent. Diana was currently living the dream of most half-blood children which meant that it was quite easy for them to despise her.

Why didn't they receive such a privilege? What made the little infant so special? Shouldn't the monsters outside the camp have just killed her?

Those were probably just a few of the question they frequently asked themselves. Unfortunately, Diana did not have any answers for them. She was just as clueless as the rest of the world.

And yet none of that made the glares sent her way any less scary or hurtful. Her only consolations were the campers that seemed to regard her with a complete indifference and the fact that no one would be stupid enough to try harming her while Dionysus seemed to favor the girl so much.

The consequences far outweighed the petty satisfaction any child might feel after hurting the god's only living child. For that reason alone no one would dare to harm her.

Although Dionysus did not belong to the strongest gods, he was still an Olympian and his retribution was something that did not even happened in her worst nightmares.

As they passed the armory, a camper—by the looks of him a Son of Ares—was thrown onto the ground not too far away from them. A few curses flew out of his mouth and he looked ready to murder the next person on whom he set his sight on. Diana would have probably ignored him if it weren't for the dust cloud that was created by his impact with the ground.

Blinking repeatedly, Diana felt a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

''What the fuck, Erik?'' The tall burly boy was up on his feet within seconds, a short-sword in his hand.

Erik, a slightly younger looking redhead—The color surprised Diana immensely. It was of such a dark shade that it resembled blood more than anything else.—exited the armory, holding two spears. ''I told you to...''

The way his eyes widened once they fell upon her father was comical. Nervously, the about fourteen years old boy bit his lip and lowered his weapons. ''Mr. D, I...we...''

At that moment the other boy also registered the god's presence, whirling around quickly and looking at Diana hesitantly. Before he could even try saying something, Dionysus already turned his gaze away from them. His eyes looked down at his crying daughter and traveled over her flushed cheeks towards her reddened orbs. ''Hush, child. It will be alright soon.''

Ruffling her pale tresses, the god once again turned his attention towards the two teenage boys. ''I do not care why you are fighting. It really doesn't matter to me. Had I not been forced to stay here and to take care of you, then I would have happily watched the two of you ripping each other apart. As it is, your behavior is causing me more trouble than the two of you are _worth.''_

Cringing, the girl regarded the slightly cowering boys. Diana could feel the waves of tightly coiled power washing over everyone in the immediate vicinity and she knew that it wasn't as comforting for the boys as it was to her. The nameless one looked ready to bolt.

 _A sliver of madness caressed her skin and the female demigod wondered if she might actually share the sentiment._

That part of her father was always deeply hidden, though sometimes a few _crazed_ shrieks managed to escape their holding cells. It was those times that Diana realized how dangerous her only parent truly was.

 _If he wanted to, Dionysus could make the whole world go mad without even raising a finger._

And what a frightening thought that was. Loosing control over ones own thoughts and actions. Being labeled as a madman and left to rot in an asylum. If a person was lucky, that was how her father's curse would end. Should the god choose to be more malicious, then a man might just end up murdering his whole family in a fit of rage.

The girl _shuddered._

''You will clean up the mess you've undoubtedly made inside of the armory, together.'' He tilted his head to the side. ''Afterwards you will come to the Big House to receive your punishment from _me.''_

Nodding in acceptance, Erik lowered his gaze. ''As you wish, Mr. D.''

Sending one last glare in the boys direction, Dionysus turned towards the path and started walking once again. One of his hands procured a moist cloth out of nowhere and used it to gently clean Diana's dirty face. ''It will stop hurting soon. The tears will help get the dirt out of your eyes.''

Leaning her head against the side of his neck, Diana looked over his shoulder at the two boys. Erik was muttering something to his brother, hitting the other boy's shoulder repeatedly and regarding Diana warily.

He wasn't the only one sending such looks in their direction. Demigods shied away from them once they felt Dionysus aura. Diana doubted that it was the worst her father could do, but it was still rather frightening, even for her.

It wasn't that the girl feared that something bad would happen to her. Surrounded by the smell of grapes and the shrieks of a crazed horde, Diana had never felt so safe before. But that did not allow her to disregard the fact that the god who was currently holding her in his arms could easily _crush_ her.

She did not know if Dionysus _loved_ her, but he did seem to at least care about her. And for now that would have to be enough.

After all, in this world of gods and monsters her father's affection was the only thing keeping her truly safe.


	7. Chapter 7

****Please leave a review.****

 ** **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]****

 ** **Have fun.****

* * *

 _Chapter 7  
_

 _Two Sides Of A Coin_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Of Parental Love  
_

* * *

 _"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."  
― Haruki Murakami_

* * *

There were days during which Diana wondered if her father was truly omnipotent.

As a god, Dionysus possessed more power than a mortal could ever hope to handle, but that did not make him truly invincible either. From what she remembered, immortals truly could _not_ be killed. Such a statement might have seemed unnecessary and blatant, however, not everyone really understood the implications of being _immortal._ Not everyone understood what living _forever_ truly meant.

Many people wished for an everlasting life. They wished for more time on earth and for more chances to fulfill their biggest dreams.

Yet, none of them understood the curse of an eternal life.

Diana had been sixteen years old when she had died for the first time. Now, she had spent almost a whole year in this new world. She had lived beyond what most would consider normal, but she still could not imagine living interminably.

(...a part of her feared that this _rebirth_ could repeat itself. Diana, although she did not want to die anytime soon, enjoyed being _mortal...)_

As such, she pitied her father immensely. And it wasn't his immortality that made this pity well inside her chest but the normal life he once had. Diana pitied her father because he was probably the only god that had _human_ origins. The only god that truly knew what it meant to be mortal.

The girl could not even begin to imagine the longing he must have felt for the time when his life was still that of a _demigod._ It might not have been simple, but it had certainly been easier.

Though, she could also be overthinking the whole matter and Dionysus could actually love his second life more than anything else. Diana could not remember his legend, so she did not quite know how he attained his current power. The whole situation could have been a coincidence or a wish he had made himself.

He would not have been the first mortal to choose _power_ over everything else and certainly not the last.

(...More than once Diana had wondered if her new father ever regretted accepting his godhood...

...and an answering 'yes' was less probable than a 'no'...)

Still, the girl could not claim to understand the mind of a god and quite honestly she did not even want to try doing so. The only thing she wondered was whether her father was all-powerful. Whether he suspected or knew that there was something _wrong_ with his daughter.

Did she have to be more careful with her behavior? Could Dionysus watch her even when they weren't in the same room?

If he could, it would explain why her father always appeared at the seemingly right moment. It would also explain how he knew the exact moment when he had to enter her nursery to witness Diana taking her first step.

She was had been standing on trembling legs inside her crib, her back leaned against the railing. Just as she had been about to move her right foot, the girl had heard the door being opened. Fortunately, she managed to hold her balance by leaning her body slightly backwards.

Dionysus was regarding her intently while entering the room. His eyes did not stray from her form even once as he crossed the distance between them. He stopped moving at the end of her crib and looked at her silently for a second. _''Come here, my dear.''_

The soft command spoken in Ancient Greek prompted Diana to take an uncertain step forward. Her left foot moved a few centimeters and was quickly followed by her right one. Diana managed to repeat this twice before she lost her footing.

Flailing her arms, she realized that her body wasn't strong enough to even try catching herself. At that moment Diana immediately came to appreciate her father's intrusion into her nightly lessons.

(...she had planned to learn walking at night and to show him the results during the day...

...

...like this she would not have made a complete idiot out of herself...)

He caught her before her head could collide with the railing. A pair of strong hands took a hold of the girl's waist and raised her into her father's arms. Like always, she was gently cradled against his chest and his slow heartbeat immediately calmed the mild panic she had felt while she was falling.

''You're quite the little troublemaker.'' Dionysus muttered against the crown of her head, cradling a hand through her short hair.

Feeling slightly mischievous, Diana grinned slightly cheekily. ''Yes, Dada.''

And then she just opened her mouth and drooled all over his newest shirt. Although it was childish and fairly disgusting, the girl also thought that it was a fitting punishment for the stalking. Dionysus might have helped her this time, but that did not mean that she wanted him to observe every second of her life.

(...in the future, this close observation would save her from a certain death more than once...)

When she was finished with her childish revenge, the god just waved one hand and all the stains disappeared within an instant.

Diana pouted.

* * *

Her hair was colored a shocking platinum blonde.

She found it out one day after she woke up in the morning with a few of its strands obscuring her vision. Before that she had never focused on the way she looked as _Diana._ There were other, more important, things to think about, so she never truly pondered the her new appearance.

That changed, of course, when she noticed how light her overall coloring was.

Diana had known that she had very fair skin and had attributed its paleness to the lack of sunbathing and time she spent outside. What she had not expected was to have hair that was actually one or two shades lighter than her skin.

Short silvery - almost white - locks of hair that did not even fully cover her ears tickled her face that morning and immediately managed to grab her attention.

 _Alda had such hair._

The disgust she felt at the thought of that woman was jarring. Alda Einarsdóttir had almost murdered Diana when she was still too fragile and helpless to fight for herself. The Icelandic woman had abandoned her own daughter on the cold streets of Reykjavik, thus almost committing infanticide.

She was the cause of Diana's biggest fear and one of her most traumatizing memories.

In this world there was no one the young girl hated as much as Alda Einarsdóttir.

''What color my eyes?'' The question was a soft and desperate one. Distressed, that was how she was feeling. Her current state of being was most likely caused by either the memories she had been suddenly forced to recall or the almost overwhelming need to be as different as possible from the woman who had given birth to her.

Diana did not want to be anything like that _monster._

Ichneutae, her favorite babysitter, turned around abruptly and regarded her with confusion. ''Your eyes? Well, they're very similar to those of your father.''

The satyr jumped down from his perch near the window and walked over to her crib. ''Is everything alright, Diana?''

Normally, a child her age should not have been behaving the way she did. The desperation tinging her voice must have sounded incredibly wrong while coming from the mouth of a toddler, so she wasn't really surprised to see the worry on the male's face.

Feeling the relief slowly welling inside her chest, Diana nodded her head and carefully raised her upper-body. '' 'is alright.''

The fact that she could not properly pronounce an 'r' made most of the things she said either incomprehensible or impossibly adorable, sometimes both.

''Are you sure?'' Questioned the satyr after he picked her up from inside her crib.

In response, Diana touched his stubbly face with her cool fingers and murmured a quiet affirmation. This reassured him enough to settle her down on the plush floor of her room and then leave her to her own devices while he searched his bag for her breakfast.

Dionysus very rarely missed visiting her in the morning. Something important enough for him to feel the need to send Ichneutae in his stead must have happened. Perhaps there was a meeting between the Olympians or it could also have something to do with her siblings. Diana did not know for certain.

Though, she doubted that there was any need for her to worry. Dionysus could take care of himself and was more than qualified to do the same with her.

Diana had never trusted someone as much as she trusted her new father. It might have had to do with the fact that he was her _savior,_ but at the end it did not really matter.

After all, in this world there was no one whom Diana loved as much as she loved her father.


	8. Chapter 8

**Merry Christmas! Here is an early present.**

 ** **Please leave a review.****

 ** **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]****

 ** **Enjoy.****

* * *

 _Chapter 8_

 _Game Of Survival_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Chose To Fight  
_

* * *

 _"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."_  
 _― Maya Angelou_

* * *

Diana was one and a half years old when she realized how far Zeus' influence could truly reach and how unbreakable his rules were. It was around that time that her father started distancing himself from her.

The process was almost unnoticeable at first. Dionysus started spending slightly less time with her in the morning and then he only visited her every second day. Soon those visits changed into once a week until even that ceased happening.

Had Diana been a normal child, she would not have been capable of doing anything against these changes. She would have started crying for her father until the day when she completely forgot that he even existed.

But Diana was not a normal child.

She was a demigod and a reincarnated soul. Both factors gifted her with a wide variety of advantages that helped her come up and execute a plan that would force her father to spend time with her.

Zeus might have forbidden his son to visit and take care of her—Which was completely laughable. They lived in a camp together. No matter how hard her father might try to avoid her, he would not always manage to do so.—but this prohibition did not apply to her as well. Not even Zeus could expect from a toddler to understand his so called rules. Neither could he harm Diana to keep her away from her godly parent.

Attacking her inside Camp Half-Blood would be like declaring war on all the other gods. None of them would stand for such a transgression.

(...Or at least she hoped that...)

Thus Diana devised her next course of action almost fearlessly. It was nothing special, of course. The whole thing mostly consisted of escaping her caretaker and finding her father afterwards. She had no idea how she would convince him that it would be totally _awesome_ if he started visiting her once again. Tears were probably a weapon she would be forced to use.

However, that was something she would worry about later. For now she had to somehow get away from Ichneutae who had thankfully left the door of her cabin open to let some fresh air inside. They were currently occupying the living room because Diana had asked to spent some time outside of her nursery. Ichneutae did not see the point of denying her such a simple request which led to him unknowingly completing the first phase of her plan.

The next one consisted of waiting more than two hours for the satyr to finally make his second mistake. By the time he proclaimed that he needed to take care of some 'business', Diana was almost ready to just storm out of the room. Patience never did belong to her virtues and her newly acquired ADHD did not help either.

This meant that she was visibly trembling in excitement when Ichneutae stood up to 'take care of some business' in the bathroom. It would most likely take him at least five minutes which was enough to slip out of the cabin and hopefully out of sight.

''I'll be back soon. Don't do anything stupid, Diana.'' The fact that he forgot about the opened door probably said a lot about how suitable he was for taking care of a toddler.

Diana _adored_ him anyway.

Smiling adorably, she nodded her head. ''Promise.''

As she watched the young man disappear inside the bathroom, she could not help wondering momentarily if gods had to use the toilette as well. Before her mind could wander too far, Diana forced herself to stand up and turn towards the ajar door.

In the last few months she had continued learning how to walk, but that did not mean that she had mastered the skill. It was surprisingly hard to get her legs to work properly without falling on her but every few meters. Right now she had no other choice than to toddle towards the door on unsteady legs and hope for the best. She passed the couch without a problem, using the furniture to keep her balance. Her plan got a little trickier once she had to walk without support, though it seemed as if the Fates had chosen to show her some mercy that day.

Triumphantly, Diana raised one of her fists into the air once she finally reached the wooden door of her cabin, ignoring how silly that gesture must have looked on a child.

And then with a single push and ungraceful stumble, the young demigod found herself standing outside in nothing but a long-sleeved shirt and diaper. It certainly wasn't one of her proudest moments.

Most of the campers were eating their dinner, thus she did not have to be too careful while walking behind her cabin and then towards the Big House. Besides, not many of them would probably care enough to stop her from running around camp without any supervision. Diana had by now gotten used to the way in which they looked at her, however, that did not make her feel any better.

Considering her fair coloring and bright yellow outfit, staying in the shadows did not help to keep her hidden. Still, it was better than walking down the main road in search of the Big House.

Dionysus was somewhere near it, his aura beckoning her to move forward. He might as well have been holding a huge sign with the short message 'I'm here' on it and a glowing arrow pointing at his head.

Her biggest problem did not lay in finding her father but reaching him. Another challenge was keeping her feet unhurt. She had not had any time to spare, as such she was walking outside barefooted. Not a very bright idea. The skin of her feet had already been cut at two places, but Diana knew better than to give up because of something so superficial. This was most likely one of her last chances to somehow pull Dionysus back into her life. She could not waste it because of some shallow cuts.

(...she could only hope that they would not get infected...)

Leaning against the back of the Dionysus cabin, Diana took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Due to the physical weakness of her body, she found herself already tired. The small legs of a toddler were not made for running around Camp Half-Blood. They were burning and trembling from exertion.

Resolutely, the toddler pushed herself away from the wall. There was no point in dallying and waiting to be found by Ichneutae. The satyr had most likely noticed her absence by now.

Diana started running towards the Big House as fast as she could, the cool wind ruffling her hair and making her eyes tear up. Subtlety got lost along the way, but she had no time to correct that. What did it matter that some campers saw her when none of them chose to stop her before she disappeared out of their sight?

By the time she managed to reach her destination, the toddler's feet were cut at a few more places and stinging unpleasantly. A few almost white strands of hair clung to her forehead and her skin had broken out into goosebumps along the way. The run had winded her. Gasping breaths escaped the girl's lips as she carefully climbed the stairs leading to the porch of the Big House. Because of her height that endeavor was rather difficult to complete.

At the end, Diana was forced to use both her legs and hands to successfully reach the veranda.

For a second, the girl thought that she might have heard Ichneutae shouting her name in the distance and this startled her into action. After straightening her body, Diana approached the door of the Big House and knocked on it without an ounce of hesitation. A minute or two later, a man whom she guessed to be Chiron opened the door. It took him a few precious seconds to realize that his guest did not even reach his waist which allowed Diana to slip into the building without being stopped.

Though he did notice her presence when one of her arms brushed against his front legs. Fortunately, the centaur seemed to be too surprised by her presence to immediately scoop her into his arms.

When he finally did choose to address her, Diana had already wandered down the hallway and was about to enter the room her father was currently occupying.

''What are you doing here, Diana?'' He asked, his voice sounding slightly bewildered. ''Where is Ichneutae?''

Instead of answering him, the young girl continued following her plan and pushed her last obstacle open.

Dionysus was sitting at a wooden table with a deck of cards before him and a diet coke in his left hand. His violet eyes were unsurprised and focused on her form. Just like her, he must have been capable of feeling her aura which meant that he must have known that she was coming.

Two weeks had passed since she had last seen her father. The relief she felt at his sight was curious and slightly disconcerting. She did not like the fact that she had become so dependent on another person that she could not imagine living without them.

Before she could formulate another thought, her legs moved as if on autopilot and her small form collided with one of her father's legs. Diana was surprised to feel a few tears sliding down her cheeks.

''You shouldn't be here, Diana.'' Dionysus' deep voice rumbled as he leaned down to pick her up and then proceeded to put her onto his lap. His touch was gentle and so achingly familiar that a sob passed her lips.

She had _missed_ him and that's exactly what she told him once their almost identical eyes met. Unwittingly, his gaze seemed to soften and a hand reached out to brush a few bangs out of her face. ''I'm here now, my sweet child.''

(...he did not specify for how long he would stay, though...)

''You can't leave me alone,'' mumbled Diana as she took a tight hold of his violet shirt. '' _You can't.''_

Earlier, the girl had thought that she would have to force herself to cry, but that was truly not the case. Fact was that Dionysus was the only family she had in this life as well as the only one who could keep her truly safe. He was her father, her savior and her protector and Diana had gotten so used to his presence that she had actually started to feel desperation due to his absence.

Diana needed her father. She did not want to lose him because of her selfish and cruel grandfather. _''Please.''_

Her grip on his shirt tightened some more and she allowed herself to fall forwards against his chest. Almost hesitantly an arm was wrapped around her tiny waist while a hand patted her tangled hair.

'' _You can't leave me alone like_ she _did.''_ It was a low-blow. Mentioning and comparing Dionysus to her biological mother was something she would have normally never done and yet she did not regret doing it now. There wasn't much she wouldn't do to keep her father at her side.

(...Diana might have had slight abandonment issues, though she would never admit something like that...)

Her words seemed to have the intended effect. This was proofed by the tightening of his arm around her waist and the _madness_ that seemed to suddenly appear in her father's eyes.

For a moment, Diana could not help but wonder what had happened to Alda after she had abandoned her, but she quickly decided that it _did not matter._ The woman deserved whatever her father might have done to her.

''It's not that easy, Diana.'' His voice reflected the anger he felt as well as his reluctance to even utter such words.

''But it is.'' Never before had she spoken in such full sentences, but now was not the time to care about revealing her true identity. ''If you don't stay with me, I'll continue trying to find you. Some day this might end _badly.''_

To prove her words, Diana looked down at the floor. There were small bloody imprints on the wood that had been left behind by her injured feet.

Blackmail wasn't something she was hesitant to use. Especially when she saw how well it worked on her father.

''You're bleeding.'' The silence that followed that statement was as unnatural as it was frightening.

Diana only felt a pleasant warmth blooming inside of her due to the fact that her father so obviously cared about her well being. ''I had to find you.''

Narrowed eyes looked down at her and seemed to see straight through her. Diana did not doubt that Dionysus knew exactly what she was trying to accomplish with her behavior. The god was ancient and he had certainly met many people who were more subtle and successful with their manipulations in long life.

That did not mean that hers weren't working.

''You're a sly little thing, aren't you, daughter?'' Murmured the god as he regarded her shrewdly.

Diana just bit her lip and gazed down at his lap to hide the dark amusement in her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**So, there is a time skip in this chapter and few more will follow from now on. There are still a few chapters of Diana's childhood in front of us, but I will try to keep this arc as short as possible.** **Unfortunately, I can't leave any of them out, so please bear with me. Diana's childhood is a very important part of this story.**

 **One of the things I wanted to try exploring in 'The Grape Garden' was what influence being raised by a god could have on a person. Diana obviously won't belong to the most well-adjusted people in the world because of it.**

 **If there are any things you would like to see Diana do or experience before this arc ends, then please tell me of them in a PM or review.**

 **Lastly, I have decided on a pairing for Diana. It's slightly...unconventional, one could say, but I think that it's an interesting path to explore.**

 **Please leave a review.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]**

 **Have fun.**

* * *

 _Chapter 9_

 _Little Bird_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Where She Learned To Fly_

* * *

 _"I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever."_

 _― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire_

* * *

That day Diana woke up early in the morning to the sight of a pile of presents next to her bed. They were wrapped in a colorful paper and clearly mostly from her father.

(...it was sad because in this life Diana only had a handful of people to care about and whom cared about her in return...)

From the looks of it, there were many books there as well as a few undeniably adorable shirts and dresses.

Dionysus knew better than to give her childish toys she would never truly use.

Once she excited her room in the cabin, Diana was greeted by her father with a chocolate cake in his hands. Fife glowing candles were positioned on top of the baked good, slowly starting to drip wax onto the icing.

The god smiled softly at her, his violet eyes gleaming ethereally in the dim morning light. ''Happy birthday, Diana.''

It was at times like this that the young girl found herself more than a little astonished. Her father always managed to surprise her with his actions. Normally, none of what he did could have been considered as surprising.

But nothing about her current situation could be considered as _normal._ Dionysus was a god and by now he should not even have any contact with her.

And yet, here he was, holding what looked to be self-made cake in his hands and smiling down at her proudly.

How many children could claim that their godly parent even wished them a happy birthday?

''You know, you should blow out the candles before the whole cake is ruined,'' muttered a familiar voice from behind her father. Diana could not help the involuntary widening of her smile once her gaze landed on Ichneutae. ''Happy birthday, squirt.''

Smiling softly at her two most important people in this life, Diana murmured, ''Thank you.''

With a hand on her head, Dionysus started leading her towards the couch. There he put down her birthday cake on the low table and raised both of his eyebrows, prompting her to make a wish and blow out the burning candles.

Leaning forward and brushing a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, the demigod tried to come up with an appropriate wish. As the candles were already half-way gone, she did not have much time to do so.

Before she could think too much about the whole thing, an impatient satyr took a picture of her with his camera and snorted derisively. ''You're ruining the cake, Diana.''

After rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue childishly in his direction, the blonde opened her mouth and blew out all five candles at once. Her eyes were closed as she silently wished for a _happy future._

Diana did not know whether wishing for such a thing even made sense. Whether it would help her at all.

What she knew was that she had been reborn into a world where almost everything seemed to be possible. A world in which gods existed and monsters walked the earth.

Was it truly so far-fetched to think that perhaps someone was listening to her silent wish? That perhaps someone in this world would be capable of fulfilling it?

''Well, what did you wish for?'' asked the satyr while taking a few more photos. He even made a few with both Diana and her father sitting next to each other.

''I'm not telling you,'' Diana answered, her mouth twisting upwards gleefully. ''That's what you get for rushing me. Besides, if I tell you, it won't come true.''

''Of course.'' Dionysus nodded his head. ''You don't have to tell him anything, my sweet daughter, though if your wish is something I can fulfill, you're welcome to tell me.''

Laughing gently, she leaned her body against her father's arm. ''It's not something tangible, Dad, but I think that even without me telling you, you'll still try to fulfill it.''

He hummed thoughtfully. ''I see.''

Carefully, Diana smoothed out her shirt and looked out of the window. ''How about we eat some of the cake now and afterwards you can tell me about the special something you've planned for me today, Dad.''

Sometimes, the girl wondered if the adults in her life were stupefied by her proficient speech. She might not have had anyone to compare herself to, but Diana still thought that she probably sounded pretty advanced for a kid of her physical age.

Still, it wasn't as if she could do anything against it. Diana did not have it in herself to act like a complete child. The only thing she could do was to try toning down her unusual behavior.

''You're quite impatient, huh?'' Chuckling, the god patted her head gently. With just a wave of his hand he conjured three plates and forks for them.

As he did not yet trust her with a knife, Dionysus cut the cake into medium sized pieces by himself.

The girl was happy to note that she received the largest piece.

''Before we go anywhere, you'll have to go eat breakfast first, Diana,'' said the god, his voice light and amused. He was fully aware that she was not interested in eating breakfast after being kept in the dark about today's plans for more than a week.

Diana pouted and widened her eyes cutely. ''I thought the cake was my breakfast.''

''I can take it away and give it back to you after breakfast,'' he explained pleasantly, leaving no room for any other arguments.

Diana stuffed a forkful of cake into her mouth and kept it wisely shut.

* * *

After eating some toast for breakfast, Diana left the Dinning Pavilion alongside her father. The moment they stepped out of the room, the girl was heaved onto Dionysus' shoulders, her hands reflexively grabbing his hair.

The squeal that escaped her lips was full of unbidden _joy._

From her new position, Diana could observe her surroundings more thoroughly. She could see the training grounds in the distance as well as the way the other campers regarded her.

By now, she was familiar with the rather scathing looks of some of the children.

Besides, it wasn't as if she could even fault them for their jealousy. Diana herself would have been no better in their position.

''Where are we going, Dad?'' she questioned to distract herself. It was obvious that their destination was somewhere inside the camp - Dionysus could not risk angering his father any more than he already had. - but that did not help Diana in narrowing down the options.

Her father chuckled as he felt her gently tugging his hair. ''You'll see soon enough.''

And see soon enough she did. Within about five minutes, the pair arrived at what Diana knew to be the stables. She had never been inside of them before, but it wasn't hard to guess what their plans were once she caught a sight of them.

An excited laugh passed her lips as she leaned forward and against her father's head. The position must have been uncomfortable for the god, but he did not say a thing against it.

''Are we going to see the pegasus?'' the little girl asked, her voice full of wonder and disbelieve.

It was one thing to know that she lived in a fictional world and a completely other thing to come across real life myths. The centaurs and satyrs had been already huge surprises and Diana could not wait to finally see a _winged_ horse.

''We're not just going to see them, my sweet child,'' he begun. ''We're going to go _flying.''_

Diana uttered a loud sound of childish elation and promptly asked her father to move a little faster.

(...they must have looked comical...

...

...a _god_ following the whims of a child as she gripped his hair tightly and tried to unconsciously steer his body...)

They could not reach the stables fast enough and when they finally did, Diana's eyes were as wide as dinner plates and full of amazement. Impatiently, she watched her father as he pushed their last obstacle open and then she finally _saw._

The horses were more _beautiful_ than anything the girl had ever seen. Larger than their mortal counterpart, six of them stood in individual compartments. All but one were colored in different shades of brown with flecks of black and white.

Although their wings were folded, Diana could already recognize that they were _huge._

What surprised her the most, however, was the intelligence that was so clearly reflected in their eyes. Intelligence animals normally never possessed.

Their high intellect was also clear in the way they treated her once she was finally in their vicinity. Before they had entered the stables, Dionysus had settled her down on his hip, so that she could reach the horses better. The animals clearly recognized _what_ her father was, but that wasn't all they did.

Applepie - A little flabbergasted, Diana wondered who named these horses. - was a coffee colored mare that gently sniffed the hand the young demigod reached out with. There was something very deliberate about the pegasus' action that actually made Diana wonder if the horse was just humoring her.

The way it looked at her was decidedly weird, though not in an uncomfortable.

''Wait here,'' said Dionysus as he put her onto the ground. ''I'll get the saddle.''

Diana just hummed in agreement as she was still preoccupied with petting the pegasus.

By the time her father came back with the saddle, Applepie was nipping at her hair and neighing softly as Diana giggled.

Within a few minutes the pegasus was saddled properly and Diana on its back. She was slightly surprised when her father did not put her on the saddle, but in front of it. The girl might not have known much about horses, but she was pretty sure that this was not the proper way to ride them.

Fortunately, it turned out that Dionysus just wanted to make enough place for himself to get onto Applepie as well. Afterwards he pulled Diana in front of himself, so that they were sharing the saddle slightly awkwardly. He proceeded to wrap a strong arm securely around her waist.

Confidently, the god steered Applepie out of the stable and before the platinum haired child really knew what was happening, they were _flying._

She could feel the pegasus' muscles moving underneath her palms and the strong gusts or wind each beat of its wings created.

The camp was positively tiny bellow them, the other campers nothing but small dots upon the ground.

 _Diana laughed in utter joy._

Even if she had wanted to, the girl could not have stopped herself from silently applauding her uncle for the creation of such magnificent beings.


	10. Chapter 10

**Please leave a review.**

 **Summary: Amelia Babineaux died in a sea of wine, as a daughter of Dionysus she lived again. [SI, Self-Insert/OC-Insert]**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _Chapter 10_

 _Life's Cruelties_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _How The World Keeps On Taking_

* * *

 _"Every villian is a hero in his own mind."_  
 _― Tom Hiddleston_

 _"You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."_  
 _― Harvey Dent_

* * *

When Diana had learned how to walk properly without stumbling every few steps or getting tired within minutes, Dionysus had gifted her with a dagger. She wasn't allowed to remove it from its sheathe without her father there to supervise her while at the same time being practically forced to have the weapon at hand all day.

It was also around that time that her training started. At the beginning, it only consisted of exercises that would help strengthen both her stamina and muscles. Afterwards, Dionysus started teaching her the basics of how to fight with one and later with two daggers.

Once he finally deemed her proficient enough, the god send her off to join the other campers during their training.

(...Before that happened, Dionysus taught her what he considered to be his most important lesson...

...

... _Diana wasn't a hero and she would never be one..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _...heroes died young, while she was meant to outlive everyone at camp...)_

Fighting against the other children was tough and she lost more often than not. This had mostly something to do with her age and the consecutive weakness of her young body, but it still managed to wound some of her pride.

During one of her beat downs Diana came upon her first real friend in this new life. Colleen Sanders was a Daughter of Ares and only two years older than Diana herself. The two of them didn't get along like a house on fire, but it was pretty damn close.

They bonded over their interests in different mythologies and got into more trouble than was probably good for them.

 _Two years after their first meeting, Colleen died during a quest._

* * *

''You do realize that I don't need a babysitter, don't you?'' asked the eight-year-old as she brushed a few strands of her fair hair away from her face.

Mia, a daughter of Apollo and the unfortunate soul who had been tasked with looking after Diana, rolled her eyes. ''And you do realize that I don't actually care about your opinion concerning this, don't you? Your father obviously doesn't trust you not to do anything stupid without anyone there to supervise you, so it's not as if either of us has got any say in this.''

''Daemon is more fun.'' The daughter of Dionysus pouted. ''You could have just left me with him in the infirmary.''

''So that you could get high on ambrosia once again?'' Amused wasn't a strong enough word to describe the expression on the other girl's face.

Scratching her head in embarrassment, Diana mumbled quietly, ''I was hungry and there wasn't anything else to eat. Besides, how should I have known that a child my age shouldn't actually eat more than a handful of that stuff.''

''Common sense?'' The older blonde tilted her head. ''You've grown up at camp. Mr. D has certainly taught you something as vital as this.''

''Well,'' Diana said while rubbed her neck sheepishly. ''He might have mentioned it once or twice.''

Mia laughed and reached out to ruffle her charge's hair, making it stand on end. ''You're such an idiot sometimes.''

It was a fond statement that made Diana grin. She elbowed the other girl and hopped down from her perch on one of the beds in the Apollo cabin.

In the last few years Diana had gotten to know some of the other campers. It turned out that they were more welcoming when she was actually their age or at least close to it and did not have her father hovering over her shoulder. There were still a few instances when someone did not regard her too nicely due to her situation, but they had become rarer as the time passed.

Due to the close relationship she had with the current Apollo cabin leader - Daemon had healed her after she had been brought into camp and had continued helping take care of her afterwards. - the girl had found a few acquaintances and even friends among his siblings.

She still did not find it entirely easy to get along with everyone. Those physically older than her babied her often and found themselves irritated when she did the same to them. Unfortunately, Diana could not help her behavior. All the children she interacted with were often actually many years younger than her, which meant that she could not even converse with them on the same level.

''Alright,'' uttered Mia, her voice full of exasperation. ''Let's just go to dinner. Being a little early won't do us any bad.''

Diana nodded in agreement. ''Sure. You think Chiron will hold another one of his long speeches today?''

''After what Jordan and Fredrick did?'' The girl laughed. ''Certainly.''

Remembering the screeches inside the Aphrodite cabin, Diana joined the other demigod in her laughter. The two boys, a son of Hermes and Ares respectively, had added some unknown concoction into the shampoos and shower gels of the Aphrodite Cabin that had then dyed the campers' hair and skin in different colors. Unfortunately, one of the girls inside that cabin had a light allergic reaction to it and had to now suffer through an unpleasant rash.

As a whole, the thing could have ended way worse and the screeches of Aphrodite's children were something Diana would remember fondly until the end of her days. A small part of her might have felt sorry for that one girl who had been allergic to whatever the boys added into her shower gel, but the rest of them certainly deserved what they got. Stereotyping wasn't something Diana liked to do, but a large part of that cabin was certainly too shallow for their own good and needed to be taken down a peg or two.

The door of the Apollo cabin closed behind them with a soft click, the sound too quiet to be properly heard over their amused snorts and giggles. Mia continued recounting the happenings of that day's morning, her tone showing clearly what she thought about some of the other campers.

Their amusement was only heightened when they walked across two teens with colorful splotches on their faces.

Altogether, not even Chiron's speeches about invading someone's personal space, touching others belongings and not crossing certain lines managed to lower their good mood. It just could not compare to the grumpy faces at the Aphrodite table.

* * *

Diana was ten years old when two blonde boys managed to literary stumble their way into her life.

 _Castor_ and _Pollux_ were accompanied to camp by Ichneutae in the late evening of one April Thursday, a small horde of monsters at their heels. They tumbled over the border of Camp Half-Blood and landed only a few feet away from her.

Dionysus had been behaving suspiciously for the last few days and Diana, who could not bear the tension surrounding him anymore, had decided to leave the Big House for a stroll through the camp. Half-way towards the training fields the girl had heard a commotion and seen archers running towards the camp's entrance.

Her curious nature had quickly gotten a hold of her and the girl soon found herself running towards the border as well.

It was there that she met her _brothers_ for the first time.

Slightly chubby faces greeted her once the two boys managed to raise themselves from the ground. They were almost identical to each other, from their height up to their golden blonde hair and strikingly _violet_ eyes.

It were their eyes that more than anything else clued her in on their identity. Diana saw the same eyes each time she looked at her father or even just in the mirror. She doubted that anyone but the Children of Dionysus could ever even have such uniquely colored orbs.

''Are you alright?'' the girl asked despite being completely blindsided. ''I...well, I could show you where the infirmary is.''

One of the boys, _her brothers_ \- and they were her family, Diana could _feel_ it more clearly than anything else - rubbed his neck, in either pain or a sheepish gesture. ''That would be nice. I think Pollux hurt his ankle.''

Considering the way Pollux was keeping his weight off his left leg, that could actually even be the case.

Taking a step forward, the oldest Child of Dionysus was just about to offer some help when a loud voice interrupted her. ''What the hell do you think you're doing?!''

Already familiar with that tone, Diana ducked her head as she saw Daemon approaching them. The current Head Counselor of the Apollo Cabin was walking angrily in their direction, pushing his way through the crowd of demigods that surrounded them.

''Don't even try moving with that foot. Just sit down and let me look at it before you make everything worse by putting too much strain on the injury,'' Daemon said once he arrived at their location and deposited his heavy medical bag on the ground.

Diana felt kind of numb.

The girl had always known that she had a pair of brothers in this world. She had also expected to meet them some day in the future.

That day was meant to be in a few years time.

Castor and Pollux were still so very painfully _young._ Too young to be taken from their mother and to be thrust into this merciless world of gods and monsters.

''Uhm, I'm Diana by the way.'' _Your older sister._ ''You're probably Castor?''

Surprised, the still standing twin raised his eyebrows. ''How do you know? I haven't introduced myself yet.''

''It's kind of fitting,'' lied Diana. ''Your twin's name is Pollux. I'm sure you know the myth of Castor and Pollux.''

He nodded his head in understanding. ''I see.''

''You're taking all this pretty well.'' Her eyebrows furrowed. ''Are you sure you're alright?''

''All this is _really_ weird, but weird things have been happening to us since forever,'' the about nine years old boy explained, his arms moving at his sides to highlight everything he said. ''So, none of this is truly new.''

''Still, I'm sure you've got questions.'' She pointedly turned her attention towards Pollux, who was currently munching on a piece of ambrosia. ''Dad will explain everything to you in the Big House.''

Yeah, Dionysus certainly had _some_ explaining to do.


End file.
